Hydraulic pipe pulling device



June 2, 1953 B. JOHNSTON 2,640,631

HYDRAULIC PIPE PULLING DEVICE Filed April 25, 1949 INVENTOR. ELM/1EJohnna/1 Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED S'l'ATES TENT ' OFFICE BlaineJohnstomPasadena, Callfi, assignor'to M. O. Johnston, Glendale, Calif.

Application April 23, 1949; Serial No. 89,325

(Cl. 254--I39) 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a device for pulling pipe or tubing from anoil well and for other similar pulling operations.

In pulling pipe or tubing from an oil well, it is necessary, of course,to pull a full length or section of, pipe from the well, and it isdesirable to pull a stand of two or more sections of pipe from the wellbefore halting the pulling operation. and uncoupling adjoining sectionsof pipe.

In prior practice, in pulling pipe or tubing from a well where there isno derrick, usually a gin pole is employed capable of elevating the pipeby only one length or section. This procedure is expensive and slowsdown operations considerably.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pipepulling unit for pulling pipe from oil wells and for other, similaroperations.

' It is a further object of the invention to provide a pipe pulling unitfor pulling pipefrom an oil well which is portable, which is simple andcompact in its construction, and which is operable to pull a stand ofseveral sections of pipe from a well before. halting the pullingoperation and uncoupling adjoining sections of pipe.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from theensuing description and the appended claims.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the followingdescription and illustrated by way of example in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation of the pipe pulling unit, partlybroken away to reveal certain interior parts.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in front elevation.

Referring now to the drawings,v there is shown an oil well designated asNJ having the usual surface fittings designated as H. The pipe or tubing[2 is shown as being pulled from the well by an hydraulically operableunit; designated as I3. The unit l3 comprises a pair of uprightcylinders [4, within each of which a piston 15 is reciprocable. Thecylinders l and associated elements are of identical construction, hencea description of one cylinder is sufficient.

The cylinder i4 is supported by a derrick No. A top cable It is fixed tothe upper end of the piston l5, and it extends upwardly through theupper end of the cylinder 14. Also shown are a plurality of nestabletubes generally designated as 11, including an innermost tube 18 whichis fixed to th piston and an outermost tube 19 which is fixed to theupper end of the cylinder.

These nestable tubes are of generally known type, being described, forexample, in Mason United States Patent No. 2,2 l0,794, granted May 6,1941, entitled Drilling Lift. As there described, their chief purposeand function is to provide a sheathing for the cable so as to seal itfrom the hydraulic fluid and prevent escape thereof and. loss ofpressure from the cylinder.

A bottom cable 25 is similarly fixed to the lower end of the piston,andit extends downwardly through the lower end of the cylinder. Aduplicate group of nestable tubes 26 are shown as connecting the pistonwith the lower end of the cylinder, such tubes comprising an innermosttube 21 fixed to the piston and an outermost tube 28 fixed to the bottomof the cylinder.

A bottom sheave 29 is journaled in brackets 30, and top sheaves 3i and32are journaled in brackets 33, which are fixed to the derrick.

The bottom cable 25 is led over bottom sheave 29 and over top sheave 3|,and it is connected at its other end to a gripping member or "elevator3?, which is of known construction. The top cable I5 is led over the topsheave 32, and at its other end it is connected to a grip-ping member orelevator 3-8 similar to theelevator 31. It will be noted that the topsheaves 3t and 32 are displaced axially with respect to one another andtransversell of the unit, so that the cables [6 and 25 are spacedequally and on opposite sides of the center line of the well.

As also illustrated, the cylinder 14 is provided with a'conduit 45serving as an inlet and outlet below piston I5 and a conduit 48 servingas an inlet and outlet above piston IS, with an operating platform 4'!and with a pipe platform 48.

In operation, thepulling'unit thus described functions as follows: Afterit has been brought to the site of the well, and assuming that thepiston I5 is in its lowermost position, the gripping member or elevator31 will occupy its lowermost position. An operator standing on theground will engage the elevator 331 with the pipe I2 beneath andadjacent a shoulder [2a. Fluid pressure is admitted to the lower end ofthe cylinder l4 through the bottom conduit 45, thus causing the pistonl5 to move upwardly and thereby elevating the elevator 31, which will,of course, pull or elevate the pipe [2 with it. When the piston 15 hasreached the limit of its up stroke, an operator standing on the groundwill engage the elevator 38, which by this time will occupy itslowermost position, with the pipe, beneath a shoulder I21 and then anoperator on the 'platform 41 will disengage the elevator 31.

Fluid will then be caused to enter the cylinder 14 above the piston I5through the conduit 46, thus causing downward movement of the piston andupward movement of the elevator 38, thus pulling a further length ofpipe from the well. Any suitable valve means (not shown) may be used forreversing the fiow of fluid pressure to the cylinder 14, and such valvemeans may be manually or automatically operable. Inasmuch as such valvemeans are well known in the art, no further description is necessary.

It will be apparent that this cycle of operation can be continuedindefinitely, limited only by the fact that the extracted sections ofpipe will eventually become too top heavy to be manageable. Theextracted pipe will, of course, receive support from the pipe platform48. It will also be apparent that the cylinder l4 and the stroke ofpiston I 5 need not be of any considerable length,

and that the stroke of piston l 5 may be less than a length of pipeprovided slips are built into the elevators 37 and 38. Thus, thecylinder may be short enough that a single operator, standing on theground, can manipulate both of the elevators 37 and 38, thus eliminatingthe necessity of an operating platform and of a second operator.

It will thus be apparent that a pipe pulling device has been providedwhich is simple in its construction and operation, which is portable,and which employs reciprocation of a single piston under the influenceof fluid pressure as the means of pulling the pipe. The piston strokeneed not be of any great length inasmuch as it is operative to pull pipeboth on its up stroke and down stroke.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, It i to beunderstood that various changes may be made in its construction by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A pipe pulling device comprising an upright cylinder, a pistonreciprocable therein, a top cable fixed to the upper end of said pistonand extending through the upper end of said cylinder, a bottom cablefixed to the lower end of said piston and extending through the lowerend of said cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing saidtop cable including a tube fixed to the upper end of said piston andanother tube fixed to the upper end of said cylinder, a plurality ofnestable tubes for sheathing said bottom cable including a tube fixed tothe bottom of said piston and another tube fixed to the lower end ofsaid cylinder, sheaves for guiding said top and bottom cables to operateone or the other thereof for pulling pipe both on the upstroke anddownstroke of the piston and a pipe engaging elevator carried by each ofsaid cables.

2. A device of the character described comprising a derrick, a pair ofparallel vertical cylinders mounted in said derrick, each cylinderhaving an aperture formed in its upper portion and in its lower portion,a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder and adapted to moveupward or downward under the influence of hydraulic pressure introducedinto the cylinder at the lower and upper apertures respectively, abottom cable fixed to the bottom of each piston and extending downwardlythrough the lower end of each cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubesfor sheathing each bottom cable including a tube fixed to the bottom ofeach piston and another tube fixed to the bottom of each cylinder, alower sheave to receive and guide each of said lower cables in an upwarddirection, an upper cable fixed to the top of each piston and extendingupwardly through the upper end of each cylinder, a plurality of nestabletubes for sheathing each upper cable including a tube fixed to the topof each piston and another tube fixed to the top of each cylinder, apair of top sheaves for each cylinder fixed to the derrick, beingdisplaced axially with respect to one another and transversely of thederrick, the outermost sheaves receiving the upper cables and guidingthe same downwardly, the innermost sheaves receiving the lower cables asthe same are guided upwardly from the lower sheaves and guiding saidcables in a downwardly direction, whereby said cables will be spacedequally and on opposite sides of the center line of the well, and a pipeembracing elevator carried by each of the co-acting pairs of cables.

3. A pipe pulling device comprising an upright cylinder, 2. pistonreciprocable therein, a top cable fixed to the upper end of said pistonand extending through the upper end of said cylinder, a bottom cablefixed to the lower end of said piston and extending through the lowerend of said cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing saidtop cable including a tube fixed to the upper end of said piston andanother tube fixed to the upper end of said cylinder, a plurality ofnestable tubes for sheathing said bottom cable including a tube fixed tothe bottom of said piston and another tube fixed to the lower end ofsaid cylinder, sheaves for guiding said top and bottom cables to pullpipe from a well both on the upstroke and downstroke of the piston, saidsheaves including a pair of top sheaves displaced axially with respectto one another and transversely of the unit so that their respectivecables will be spaced equally and on opposite sides of the center lineof the well, and a pipe embracing elevator carried by each of saidcables.

BLAlNE JOHNSTON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 961,420 Oakes June 14, 1910 1,536,413 Thrift May 5, 19251,756,910 Fuller Apr. 29, 1930 2,094,124 Huffman Sept. 28, 193'?2,226,947 Sheldon Dec. 31, 1940 2,240,794 Mason May 6, 1941 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 42,349 Netherlands Dec. 17, 1937

